Traditional Art Pigments Mediums: Red, Blue, Yellow Digital Art Printed Mediums: Magenta, Cyan, Different Yellow which is why colour printers are as they are. Lights (including digital art that never leaves a screen I've been told): Red, Green, Blue though some people apparently have more receptors in their eyes that might include yellow or maybe even other colour receptors and that for most of us we can't see pure green because the receptors that register green can't activate without also activating red or blue receptors...and we register magenta/pink even though it isn't in the visible colour spectrum because of our receptors and how our brain registers things. My 10 year old loves medical documentaries/programmes on the range and limits of the human body and there was one on senses on the BBC a while back that discussed it in detail.

For additional evidence, although these codes and gestures change quite a bit and will depend on location and group, would be the ADL's Hate Symbol Database which is online and has a few gestures that could easily be twisted versions of the ok hand gesture [88 looks like one to me though it uses two hands]. As said above, the WP hand symbols which I know of uses ok-like symbols. The ADL's database has a lot in it though which makes it a bit overwhelming and hard to find exactly what someone is talking about unless one knows the common name for the gesture rather than "looks like a-ok gesture" because what looks like one to me might not to someone else and a lot of hand gestures can be twisted into others depending on the angle one is looking at it from. I don't think anyone is suggesting one get up in arms about this gesture - it's simply something some have heard of and others haven't likely due to usage [much like using it for ok which isn't common near me] - but the idea that those who know and prioritize knowing about these things are 'social justice warriors' who are, by this thread, either attention seeking liars and/or cowardly enablers of racists...or the Holocaust...might be getting a few up in arms as many find that ignoring and being silent on these sorts of things tends to help make such things more acceptable. Yes, some people do put a lot of black and white thinking into these things which damages trying to talk about it but the idea that fighting for social justice should be considered a something for liars and cowards is as likely to get someone upset as saying they don't care about fighting racism. Most of the evidence that this is happening comes from the groups themselves - they publish their tactics for those they've recruited to use to help recruit others and they talk a lot about how to make their ideas seem banal and fine and code words and phrases to lead people into their way of thinking. It is where the ADL gets much of their information. There is no white supremacist dictionary as all the groups are different even with the global alliances but their own information is as close as we can get - and it's not stuff most people are comfortable to link from even if we work with that information. I mean, do people expect anyone to link to a white supremacist group showing them discussing this? The most I would be comfortable doing beyond the ADL link is in PM sharing a screenshot of tactics given out by one of the largest White Power group in the US that has already been uploaded onto a tumblr for public discussion of their tactics. If anything, beyond not wanting to link to them for ethical reasons is not wanting them to try attacking this site because of a link to their site. It's been known to happen.

Totally in agreement. Hate groups often try to make their ideology more acceptable by making their less obvious symbols and rhetoric more common and move people step by step into their worldview like the Overton Window in media. I grew up in a rather racist area and where I live now has active EDL and known fascist groups and I want to be aware and want my kids to be aware of the current red flags for these groups just as much as the red flags for any other behaviour or relationships as relationship building is one of the main recruiting tools they use. The one similar to OK may not get the traction to pull people in, but it's only one of many currently in use. People using as they are may help drown it out but knowing it is there can help people keep an eye out. The ones online are more insidious and even more important I think for young people who are online to know. Stormfront and other White supremacist group are actively targeting forums known for young people with tactics to recruit them in the step by step manner with things few suspect is connected with them -- like cuck having becoming a frequently seen insult online in comments originates from its usage by White supremacists and is now mainstream popular. The window of acceptability is moving towards them. Knowing their online codes and tactics makes it easier to deal with them. Another example, also seen in comment threads, many seemingly ridiculous illogical arguments about racism/sexism/ableism and so on are often started by members of hate groups not with the intention to directly argue with people at that point but to get people to argue with them and get more attention from bystanders reading the thread -- knowing they just want to argue with people in hopes the attention will make someone google their way to their websites and knowing phrases and such flags to alert between actual conversations and these hate group threads means we don't waste our efforts to do their work for them and our kids knowing what those phrases actually mean and why they're hateful makes them less susceptible to the recruitment that is how many get into these groups.

The housing segregation issue has been known about for many years - redlining, bias by realtors and banks, there are so many other well documented systemic reasons for it that putting it in with 'laziness' seems a bit gross which is probably why it makes an excellent part of a clickbait headline. Complacency to social issues isn't anything new though and the apparent ignoring of those in power and trying to lay it all on general public to fix the economy (ignoring what banks and the governments have done and perpetuating this idea that we can continuously be more "productive" which is a damaging myth and ignores many jobs and needs of society are not "productive"). This reminded me of a piece I read earlier this week on the issues of the value judgement of laziness and its biased overuse. The line about "claiming to work hard" as if it's a lie annoyed me a bit as did the whole bit on parenting. My parents did not send me out with any great purpose, they wanted me and my siblings out of their hair so they could do other stuff. They had different lives and different risks to consider than today. As others said, relocation packages used to be far common [my father took advantage of it 4 times during my childhood]. As an American who did immigrate out almost 14 years ago when it was far easier, all I can think is if Americans are lazy and complacent, who exactly is meant to be the role model of not laziness when most other powerful countries have far more paid leave and such (ignoring the growing issue of zero-hour contracts and similar that companies - many US in origins - are using to get around aid legislation). The very type of united work for civil rights, justice, better rights in work and housing is ones that tend to band around "lazy" seem to also dismiss.

Yeah, I never really considered text etiquette to be such a passion raising topic or thought about how I use my phone's text, messenger, and general notification functions so much before. It's a recent addition for me that, like my laptop, helps me communicate and work & avoid getting isolated, particularly when I'm having a bad flare up, which has been a big issue for me. I only got a smartphone last summer after quite a while of not having a mobile for ages and I use mine more for music and prefer messaging via computer than trying to text on a phone. I still find texting so slow compared to typing even with the onscreen keyboard. One of my spouse's pet peeves actually is that I do not text enough when I'm out. I always feel weird when other's are on theirs at events so I figure I shouldn't be on mine if I feel that way and I never remember during breaks or that I could nip to the loos if I really wanted to without bothering anyone. I would argue no one likely cares and I'm trying to get over that but after this thread I'm not so sure :lol: Now I'm having passing thoughts that I need to schedule my messaging and texts better and whether I should second guess whether my messages are important enough to send. Really, particularly when I'm having a bad flare up but still true most of the time, if I had to think it was important enough that I would call someone to say it, I would just never text anyone anything. To me, calling someone is if someone asks me to do it as a specific time or big knowing later will likely cause a lot of problems or a fight emergency and generally never think what I have to say is that important. I guess I'm lucky in that most of my friends want me to text more and are happy for random stuff or I would end up even more isolated than I've already gotten.

We're bottom of the barrel at the bottom 10% both in the UK and by that website with our income converted. I don't have much idea of what other home educating parents I know make but I don't know any I would describe as "affluent" though to me that's less a particular income and more a social power and control in life that comes from freedom to not be continuously actively worrying and dodging around financial issues for basic needs. With the big financial changes happening in the UK with the recent change of the tax year and what is suppose to be coming in the upcoming years, it's been a big topic of conversation around here as we're very much in a working class and disabled-retired social group where cuts and ideological poor bashing heard everywhere is a big issue. We have three adults with incomes, so we can spread out time and costs a bit better than most people we know which at times makes us seem more affluent, but I also know people who take trips all the time and run big cars who seem affluent until you talk to them about their parents or friends paid for the trip or groceries or have been topping up the petrol. I can't wrap my head around the idea that home ed is for the affluent as that doesn't match who I know at all. The well-off people can afford to get out of our education black spot where less than a third finish school with a basic standard of qualifications.

True, but neither is a phone call. There are many reasons why someone would be unable or unwilling to speak and/or hear at any given time alongside times when sound would generally be unwise. While calling would always be more prompt, many emergency services have text registry systems now to help make it more reliable for people to use if needed and I think it's great people are getting more options...even if it makes trying to figure out the rules of it all a bit confusing at times.

Personally, I treat texts and messenger apps like email. With the schedules and available hours of the people I know varying so widely - many of them working nights or shifts - it would be practically impossible to apply a universal rule of manners that would work. But, other than my spouse, I don't text very much and he's used to waking up with a full inbox of random things I've thought of or wanted to talk to him about during the day while he's asleep. If someone specially asked me not to during certain times I would respect that [though so far it's only been people asking me to send them while they sleep so they have them when they get up rather than going off while they do important things], but I'm not sure how I would be expected to know unless told. Maybe it's just my odd group of friends, but I don't really expect to know when people are sleeping or available unless I know them quite well which is why I send text messages in the first place unless asked to call which I would only do during certain times unless an emergency. With just the three adults living in this house, we all work and sleep on different schedules and all of those have changed a lot over the years. The only group chat I have is with a hobby group which is easy for me to turn their messages off when the night people get extra chatty. I can see setting rules for a social group chat that fit most of the people, forgetful people like me could always message one of the people involved who is okay with it if we think we will forget rather than use a group chat for brain dumping to everyone.

I have as well. I think a big problem is there is so little in society that tells us what to do when that happens so it does feel like a fight. Like I'm currently struggling to think of a book or movie or show that represents how to handle that well - it's either ignored as not happening one true love style or it's treated as drama/comedy/shameful that we get emotions. The lack of representation and ways to handle it without guilt or blaming causes a lot of people problems, I think.

Yeah, some friends and I discussed once a not uncommon situation particularly when we were much younger where after one person came out, others in a social circle would follow within a year like we were all penguins huddling together for safety before we even knew it. :lol: Personally, thinking about it now, pretty much all my women friends in person are bisexual or lesbians. The guys are a bit more evenly split between straight, gay, and bi. My spouse actively encourages me to go out more with them and to go to and arrange LB events and groups because, in his word, I come home so much happier. After spending an evening with women who get all of it when most of my days are kids and guys and such, it's just uplifting even if we just sit in a pub talking for hours. I think it would hurt me a lot if he tried to discourage that from his own fears rather than what he thought was best for me and us. A thought I've had on this as I started writing this - I started getting crushes fairly young and very easily and learned early how to sit with those feelings for a while to see what they would become and still be social. Most of the time it's gone within a few weeks if that. I think a lot of our society and social messaging treats those feelings as all important and must be expressed and it must mean something important if I'm having strong feelings...when really they're much like other emotions, out of our control, but they change and are influenced by our actions. I've had super strong talk about all the time crushes that within a month turned into 'meh, they're okay to go to events to, I guess' reactions. I'm a bisexual woman who was actively polyamorous before I moved in with my now spouse and in the 14 years since I've only been with him. I sometimes joke it's because I've gotten a lot picker with people as I've gotten older as my spouse would be very tough act to follow, but I think some of it is that I don't chase my feelings, I know they're unreliable and I can openly talk them out with my spouse and with my friends who are similar. Some of the cheaters I've known, mostly within my own family, seem now to me to have been chasing a feeling or at least an ideal of a feeling and then gotten angry that it wasn't sustainable regardless of their actions. I think emotional and personal understanding and responsibility and maybe accountability has far more to do with being able to maintain friendships and relationships than simply access but how people want or maybe need to put those things into their lives is likely different. Personally, the more caring people and connections I have the better my life is and I would rather just talk out all the feelings and issues along the way and I know I get strong feelings very easily and how to act with them. I also know others who specifically choose 'easy', in their words, friendships that are the most likely to be mutually supportive without hidden surprises or things to worry about because that works for them and for some that will be along gender lines. I don't think it can be applied as a general rule as people are too complicated and different for that, and I've unfortunately known cheaters and abusers who've used this line as a way to explain their actions which never made sense to me, but I can see why some people apply it to themselves if it fits their lived experience and it works for them. EDIT: In short, to use the swimming metaphor, I get why others may want a life vest; I do not get why anyone thinks I should be wearing one when they don't know my abilities or what if any waters I'm intending to be near when I can decide for myself. I cannot find one to use with strangers who in my life are more likely to break the no roughhousing rules than the people I invited with me. Better swimming instruction and responsibility would help.

Yes, though whether certain individuals can be friends with people they could be attracted to is still in question for me. I've met a few who put their attraction and such feelings before basic decency. I live with my spouse and our housemate who is a guy. In the almost 6 years housemate has lived us, including many nights alone as my spouse works nights, the most physical contact he and I have had was an awkward arm pat I gave him when he found out his childhood cat had died. He has never made anything close to a pass at me and the three of us have all openly discussed our sexualities and sexual history and such without issue. My spouse and I are both bisexual and have friends across all genders, some who have admitted to finding one or both of us attractive, but it' has yet to cause us any problem. I have far more issues being alone with strangers, particularly those who feel they have power over me. I hate going to medical or similar appointments alone because of previous abuse which also causes me to struggle to be assertive in those situations when by myself which I don't usually have in social situations. In fact, I've been repeatedly told that while my spouse is intimidating until people get to know him because of his size, I'm the opposite... though those were the same people who can hear my spouse give his opinion fine, but my saying the same thing comes across as "aggressive".

My favourite book for discussing death with the younger age group is Lifetimes by Bryan Mellonie. We've had this talk quite a bit with our kids as we've lost 4 family members in the last 18ish months. One, their uncle, was terminal but stubborn for two years beyond the original timeline we were given while the others were weeks to a few months from the news. One was terminal but went into hospital after a fall and was suddenly gone overnight. Talking about it at their pace was vital as well asking what they want to do. Some wanted to draw pictures and comics and make packages to send them. Also, helping them not feel guilty which took me by surprise, but the younger ones knew this was big and important and we were very sad, but obviously had far fewer memories with the family members and less connection - one of mine drew lots and lots of pictures and eventually explained that they knew the person but felt bad they didn't have a specific story or memory like her older sibling [who had spent weeks on a trip with them earlier in the year]. We had a lot of talking about how all our feelings were fine and valid and that it was understandable to not remember as much. Calls and video calls have been good for balancing a desire to connect while lowering the stress of large groups. Also, afterward, gathering photos and things to display and talk over together again, particularly for the kids who for whatever reason cannot or do not want to attend the funeral. We're working on doing a photo wall of framed photos and such of all our deceased family and the family tree my spouse's aunt made. The funeral brought up a lot of thoughts as well - the last funeral was the first time my eldest had been around alcohol or people drinking...or anyone encouraging him to do so. One tipsy relative thought it was funny to repeatedly tease and suggest he try to take some from one of the adults. He was the only one there underage - my spouse's family are quite opposite to me and very against telling kids and them going to funerals. I was very proud of him repeatedly just saying he was happy with his soda when I wasn't there to stop it] and there were a lot of old stories that were interesting to explain.

I think most medical professionals I've seen about my or my spouse's pain issues have made a joke about wanting to take a tank home as it's usually the first go to and used often while triaging emergency pain issues so it's a common talking point. Personally, I found biting on the nozzle more helpful than the actual gas&air, including for birth, mostly because I find the lightheaded feeling makes me more anxious rather than relaxed. Heat packs and counter pressure are far more effective for me. For the dentist, on their recommendation, I take my top level pain killers plus all the numbing they recommend. I know others who use headphones & loud music as the loud vibrations apparently help counter the drilling feeling, but for all my pain tolerances built up elsewhere, my mouth is a very overly sensitive delicate wuss. I use ultrasoft toothbrushes and everything.

Is there a particularly part of British history of interest or types of British points of view she's after? It would make it easier to make a recommendation, there is quite a lot of it and lots of different British points of views... Niall Ferguson would be worth a look. I know quite a few who recommend his book Empire [he also has one on US history/expansion called Colossus, it may be interesting to compare what a Brit thinks of US history]. Darcus Howe: A Political Biography would be good for more modern history and the discussion of UK civil rights movements. I do like The Tribes of Britain by David Miles which is more of an early overview book though I'm too early in it to really recommend it. Honestly, I use a lot of the BBC Store/bbc iplayer for history which is IP locked so not much use. Most of the British history books we own are a book more tongue-in-cheek like "All the Countries we've ever invaded and the few we never got around to" which I may use for high school geography...

My ovaries started failing "naturally" at 28. After being scanned and all the blood tests to make sure there was nothing worse, all I got was a medical professional laughing that "at least you'll be buying fewer pads". The fact it affects all my other medical problems and places me at higher risk for several things has never been taken seriously because "it's natural". It is very frustrating that, like everything else made by people, it has the same systemic power imbalances that we see elsewhere, including sexism. Seeing how little funding is going to very common, painful problems because of who gets it. Endometriosis, menorrhagia, polycystic ovary, syndrome, uterus fibroids are all receiving next to no funding for research into cause or treatment. Current recommendations in far too many places put the possibility to refuse certain treatments like partial hysterectomies unless a woman is married or already has X number of kids is beyond creepy when I think about it -- young women forced to continue without sometimes the only treatment because of the wishes of some hypothetical man not even known to her yet. Seeing the numbers on research, how many pharmaceuticals go to market without being tested on women, how too few, even trained, know how a major thing like cardiac distress often display different symptoms in women than the far more commonly represented in medical books and media men. I also find it frustrating that I've been praised for dealing with the issues perimenopause causes me without medication or any other care [except ice cream] which hasn't happened for many other conditions I have that are similarly natural but dealing with them that way leads me to be repeatedly told that I need to have it "properly dealt with" even when they don't know until I tell them. My general pain management goes on about how everyone is different and putting up things just because others are or say we should may cause further harm so keep on top of it. This is rarely applied to ~natural women's issues~ while the natural care is rarely supported for things that people see has too wrong to live with. The bias confuses me regularly, I never guess well how the systems will tell me I'm wrong this time.

Rose M, I think from what you've written I get what you want to convey to others, but I'm not sure who you need to find the appropriate word to describe your brother to that you are concerned about. If it's a medical professional or a social services provider, they'll need the exact diagnosis and details, but most other people do not and there is no way that one term will ever be able to accurately convey everything, especially about someone else. I often just say I'm disabled or I have long term conditions -- I even have a pin on my bag that says 'disabled' -- as that's all I really need other people to know. I don't go into details with most people in person. Personally, in your situation, unless your brother has a preference, if I felt that others were not understanding based just using autism - because there is a lot of bias around it and I completely get how it can not feel like enough of a word as it is commonly understood - I would use cognitive disability which autism is but the social weight of the wording I think fit better with what I think you're trying to say. Severe autism or severely autistic means very different things to different people in my experience. Cognitive disability, while actually vaguer, has a clearer image, I think. I am autistic, I have autistic children. I know non-verbal autistic people who have written novels and maintain businesses. The problem with severe as a concept or functioning labels is not that it is offensive or not "PC", but that, just like everyone else, there is overlap depending on what one is focusing on and more often than not the focus is on how well we pass as not autistic or not disabled by it from someone else's point of view. I've had both applied to me within days of each other because different people prioritized different things. How I appear to others when I'm at the end of my pain or emotional coping ability and usual will be different and what I am diagnosed on but the underlying thinking does not change for me. So, I would say "He has a cognitive disability *and* [fill in lovely things you've listed] to give a fuller picture. And is important because his autism is part of why he does those things -- quite a few people put but there as if the lovely things are separate or make up for something that is integral to us which does hurt a lot of people. It's kinda like saying she's a woman, but she's funny. Honestly, as an overthinker who has been in disability activism for years the only bit that made me raise my eyebrow even slightly is putting an age on mental capacity. It's not offensive as such but something many within disability activism are trying to move professionals and society away from because a lot of abuse and ableism has been and still is excused under the "they have a mental age of X so it doesn't matter". Really we have such a limited understanding of the mind that we cannot accurately say that with any certainty on anyone before we get to how difficulty in communication or emotional overload or anything could create barriers on a person showing their capacity to others. It's an easy way to frame and I understand why it is used but see it used to excuse horrible things enough time and it makes me nervous and wish there was an easier way to explain such things.

When I was little, I would go walking alone for hours. Woods, city, I loved it. I loved traveling by myself as well. I still love the walking - I prefer doing it with others now. I've gotten more nervous about it as I've gotten older. Maybe I've read too many stories or watched too many movies or because of my medical conditions - I'm very aware of how much weaker I am than I used to be and how much weaker I am comparative to so many others my age, but I am nervous about doing some things alone or alone with particularly my younger kids than I used to be. I don't like taking taxis by myself either, I'd rather walk...

:iagree: I live not that far from Stratford upon Avon and so many want to treat it as very serious business. There is a big move here it get his works earlier and earlier in primary schools because "it's true English culture" and I'm like "you know he was popular and long-lived because of wide - particularly bawdy - appeal and that very poetic sounding line you think the little ones should memorize is about genitals, right? That the title 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a pun about the same?" Yes, that's very English/British humour, but kids talk about butts and stuff enough that I don't feel the need to tell them how to do in Early Modern English. I also don't see the point in sanitizing it for a younger audience because it's *~Shakespeare~* when we could just enjoy and discuss it fully and awkwardly when they're older. I'd love to take them to a live production, particularly by the RSC with the old pronunciations which would be amazing, but as entertainment that we can talk about not with the idea that a 1500-1600s white guy writing clever puns, sex jokes, and butchering history to make it more entertaining is the height of their culture that we need to spend years dissecting his work and treating it as all serious enlightened stuff. So many other great authors, I do not have the will to treat Will as the guy. EDIT: I also do not get the much recommended elsewhere of having older siblings help younger ones. Here that leads to giggling or screaming within 5 minutes if that. The most that has ever worked is having an older child read aloud with a younger child next to them that's playing/messing with other books and by works, I mean they're both doing something so I can actually work with someone else. I, along with many others here it seems, do not get the radical unschooling and counting everything as more than it is. Locally, many of them love to brag about how little they do vs how much their kids know and only advice to any issue is "just wait, they'll get it later/when they're older/if it's important...." and on the same local board a panic every year about catching up to do GCSEs or something. They're all the same people calling every little thing by some fancy education title as if to prove they are doing things? It's very confusing and - having heard so many versions of how other's kids magically learned to read/multiply without any teaching while mine are more the eager-but-struggle types - kinda frustrating because the wait advice has never helped here. I only have a denim skirt or two, no jumpers, though most of the HE parents here tend to be more tie dye and knitted sweaters.

I read on an animal care website ages ago about using baby clothes for cats & small dogs that did not react well to the cone. They had multiple pictures of cats in newborn and 3-6 month shirts that always stuck with me as equally adorable and amusing.

I'm finding the repeated myth of mental illness = violent I've seen in this thread really disturbing. The ableist rhetoric needs to be stopped - it causes a lot of harm. Many people have been hurt or killed by those without mental illnesses because of this concept. I think any conversation on this needs to remember that people with mental illnesses are more likely to be hurt by others than to hurt others. Several studies, including from the American Psychiatric Association and the Institute of Medicine, have given very strong evidence of this. We with mental illnesses are more likely to be victims of violence than to be violent. Also, as has been said, lack of access is a major issue - there are far more people fighting for access to care than there are fighting getting care. Yes, there is resistance to care but - as someone with disabilities both physical and mental and personally been involved with multiple disability communities for many years, the gap of resistance between the two is a lot smaller than a lot of people think. A lot of people with physical illnesses avoid medical attention for many reasons - stigma and ableism woven into our cultures and social systems being big ones. Shall we lock up everyone with chronic pain due to the correlation with that being undertreated and violence? The evidence for it is about as strong as the usefulness of involuntary confinement for those with mental illnesses for improving individual well-being on a large scale. I am still fully human with all my disabilities and most of us who live with it are very well aware of when it is affecting us especially those who live with it for a while. I have C-PTSD. Mine has elements of depression, anxiety, paranoia including paranoid delusions, executive dysfunction, and so on. I cannot take medication for it because they're all contraindications to other conditions I have [apparently, my being conscious and not having a stroke are considered more important]. I am always very aware that PTSD is causing paranoia which is what is making my mind and body react like someone is breaking into the house to kill us, knowing doesn't stop how they're reacting, I just have to live through it until it passes. I am aware during a panic attack that something that happened 10-15-20-25 years ago cannot be happening now, but I have to live/feel/hear through it again. My spouse, who has schizoaffective disorder, is able to tell his visual and/or auditory hallucinations from reality even when he feels compelled to interact with them, he still has to live through it. I mostly live through it silently as I've been taught to since I started showing signs of it in early childhood. I've been "lost" many times, and in all of those times confinement is the literally the worst thing for me and what I was always taught to do to myself to punish myself for it. As likely obvious, I'm against involuntary confinement in institutions to attempt to coerce treatment just for having a mental illness, but then I am a person with multiple disabilities who has repeatedly had to face verbal, physical, and on one occasion violent-left-in-a-bed-of-my-own-blood-to-teach-me-some-lesson sexual abuse by medical professionals in medical settings as well as worked with more people who have faced far worse so my trust in all of it is likely a lot less than most people before even getting into the historical and current abuses in general with healthcare systems around the world. The current systems are just not fit for purpose particularly for the marginalized and vulnerable. I am for reducing stigma and ableism which are major barriers, opening better access with better-trained diverse professionals and more safeguards to remove abusive ones as well as the inclusion of coping techniques and emotional education age appropriately from an early age. I also have wild dreams of better-funded funded research, more peer group therapies which have some of the best results but woefully ignored and underfunded, and more systemic changes within institutions and society at large that pushes so many of us aside. So many parents on here worried about their kids and a lot of it is to do with current structures being built and maintained to silence and profit off of us to death rather than to enable us to care for each other and live.

Taking a break from MEP was the best thing for mine. I find the later years in MEP primary a real grind and much is covered again better - at least for us - in the secondary section or other programmes. When my eldest was in a similar situation, good at maths but wanting less of it in his day, we switched to Maths Essentials. We did their Book 2 Middle School/High School maths [with bits from Book 1 thrown as they have few things not covered in and sometimes I would print worksheets in areas he needed more practice] as a way to make sure he had a firm grasp of everything before we moved to secondary level. It's worked really well. They have an algebra program that includes video instruction [moving away from me doing it was a lot of help to him] and follows a similar that you may want to look at. For a child that is good at maths I think it works well.

I agree with checking with the store and also google for reptile animal rescues. I can't tell if the obsession and outburst and buying a snake is teendom or mental illnesses. I did radically random, weird and risky stuff as a teen that had nothing really to do with my mental health. I would not send her to an ill-fitting psych. At best it's a waste of time and energy that could hinder proper progress. Obviously, adjustments to medication may need to be considered and an alternative to cutting should be sought. My best recommendation; are there any peer mental health groups in your area? Personally, as a mentally ill once-teen, the peer groups did so much more for me than any psyc. or therapist. Being able to listen and eventually discuss emotions and coping strategies with people my age was such a breath of fresh air for me. Still to this day I remember and use things I learned from others there and continue to find peer group care of such great help even when at first in any group I'm a socially anxious ball trying to hide.

As someone who has had a mental illness from an early age, I'm not sure how sharing a diagnosis with other parents would help anything. Saying a child has XYZ doesn't really help other people to understand what they need. Mental illnesses are quite complex - even with something like PTSD, triggers are inconsistent and change. I would never expect someone else to know what is my upset and what is my triggered even if they knew I had PTSD -- though if my child got overly upset, I'd expect to be told no matter what. Instead, to me, it would make more sense to warn about specific behaviours just as one would for any behaviour that could put themself or others in danger or cause problems. So myself, as a child, I was a houdini. I got stressed or triggered, my response was to get out of there and stay gone as long as I could. I physically let go of my emotions by walking for hours throughout my childhood and being away from people - even in a crowd - felt safer. My parents should have told others this because it resulted in a lot of issues when I got "lost" at amusement parks. Honestly, I'm not sure they ever connected the two things together and as a kid I didn't have the words to explain it to anyone nor would I have told them anyways. That last part is kinda critical - even if the parents informed someone of a diagnosis, there is no way that they'll really know all of it. For groups, I would disclose as required though the older they got the more I would allow that to be their choice. They all get their NHS numbers on the forms anyways which means ua medical professional would pretty much know anything they'd been diagnosed with if it was required. Even with the St John Ambulance that my older 3 where there are multiple people with medical training on site, I list specific issues rather than any overall diagnosis.

My housemate attributes much of his recent weight loss to the long walks he's taken due to Pokemon Go. He can go walking for hours with that as his motivation. Seriously, he once told me he was going on a "short walk to clear his head" and arrived back about...3+ hours later because there were charmanders all over our local park. He also got a stationary bike to use while he watches shows when the weather is too miserable for even that to tempt him out. In terms of eating, both he and my spouse found that they were both in this pattern where they would significantly undereat for days without noticing due to work or something, their bodies would crash, and they would overeat for days for comfort/cravings and repeat. Having a target amount for the day every day, help them both balance it out. Once housefriend was out of that, he could work on slowly lowering his target amount. My spouse is still trying to get out of it. Because he works nights and goes straight to bed less than an hour after he gets back, his schedule for most things is pretty wonky and with the couple of years we've had [multiple deaths in the family, terminal illness in the family, his own health issues particularly with his lungs], he's still going through the stress/comfort cycle quite a bit.

I've found Year 3 to be a good starting point for spelling as a separate subject. The ye olde Essentials in Teaching and Testing Spelling, originally published in 1932, I have the 1985 'new' edition with extra words...like cheque and cassette I had to explain last week, that I use as our spelling spine has 'Group 1' starting at 7. When I did it earlier, there tended to be tears and take far longer to do a lot less. I think having a strong automatic handwriting so they aren't thinking about that too much as well as phonics skills to recode the sounds really helps so to me it makes sense to come after a good deal of those first. With my eldest where I didn't start until much later because of a mix of language issues, being told since he was reading such-and-such impressive book on his own he would naturally catch up and our concentration on maths [which for a time he wanted to spend hours on and I was trying to rebuild his confidence], and he has a lot of bad spelling habits to overcome still. We're about to complete Group 3 in the spine with him and my 9 year old [which is set for 9-year-old and fits A-9's level perfectly but O-12 is struggling though they like doing it together] and we're going to take a term just to do a Spelling Essential's personal spelling journals daily as we started this term to work on personal trouble words and it's spelling rules work. I'm hoping it will help him think through it a bit more so he has skills and confidence. Adding the personal spelling practice this year for my older two has been a great lightbulb moment for all of us. I intend to do the same for my youngers when they hit Group 3/Year 5.